View/Print/Download the sermon notes in PDF >

MAKING WISER DECISIONS

Exodus 2:11-22, Hebrews 11:24-27

• Almost every Mother wants her Children to make wise choices in the emotional, financial, physical, relational, spiritual, and vocational decisions of their lives.
• What are some of the best and worst choices I’ve ever made?
• We’ve all made plenty of good and bad choices in life.
• There are three truths about choices: 1) Choices always lead to consequences (Galatians 6:7), 2) “Fleshly choices” are always wrong choices (Romans 6:12-14), and 3) “Faith choices” are almost always right choices (Romans 1:17).
• When we make choices about significant issues or relationships, they impact us and others for the rest of our lives, and can even impact others after we are gone.
• Moses was a great man who made some of the “best” and “worst” choices ever made (Exodus 2:11-22, Hebrews 11:24-27).
• What can we learn from the life of Moses that will help us make better choices in the future?

Making Better Choices Requires:
COMMITTING OURSELVES TO GODLY LIVING

• “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.” (Hebrews 11:24-25)
• It is the natural tendency of every person to pursue the “path of least resistance,” but the right way is seldom the easiest way of doing anything.
• “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12)
• We don’t make good decisions when ungodly desires guide our decision-making, because they bring only fleeting pleasure and much pain (Hebrews 11:25).
• “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15)
• We can only conquer ungodly desires when We Love And Want The Lord More Than We Love Ourselves And Want The World.
• “Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. . . . And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-17)
• We can only conquer ungodly desires when We Are Being Led By God’s Spirit.
• “Live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” (Galatians 5:16)
• Our faith in God ultimately is what gives us the ability to make correct rather than convenient or compromising choices (Hebrews 11:24).
• “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” (Romans 1:17)

Making Better Choices Requires:
CONTROLLING OUR UNGODLY EMOTIONS

• “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work. During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.” (Exodus 2:11-12)
• Even the best people struggle with ungodly or negative emotions at times.
• To make good choices we must learn how to overcome Frustration and Anger In Our Lives.
  • Frustration and Anger can ruin friendships, marriages and other relationships, and bring harm to us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
  • “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)
  • We overcome Anger and Frustration by: 1) confessing those struggles (Proverbs 28:13), 2) contemplating why we’re angry or frustrated (Proverbs 19:11), 3) controlling our anger or frustration (Ephesians 4:26, 5:16) 4) commanding the Devil to leave us alone (James 4:7) and 5) committing to becoming like Jesus in our attitude and actions (Philippians 2:1-5).
• “The next day, when Moses went out to visit his people again, he saw two Hebrew men fighting. ‘Why are you beating up your friend?’ Moses said to the one who had started the fight. The man replied, ‘Who appointed you to be our prince and judge? Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ Then Moses was afraid, thinking, ‘Everyone knows what I did.’ And sure enough, Pharaoh heard what had happened, and he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.” (Exodus 2:13-15)
• To make good choices we must learn how to overcome Fear And Despair In Our Lives.
  • The Lord wants us to obtain victory over our fears because: 1) fear emotionally traumatizes us, 2) fear makes us vulnerable to the Devil’s attack, 3) fear keeps from living by God’s will and keeps us stuck in our lives, and, 4) He wants us to live by faith rather than by fear.
  • “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)
  • To overcome Fear we must: 1) access God’s power (Acts 1:8, 1 John 4:4), 2) believe in God’s love and commitment to us (1 John 4:18), 3) cultivate self-control in our lives (Proverbs 25:28).
  • “The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?” (Psalm 27:1)

Making Better Choices Requires:
CONNECTING WITH GODLY PEOPLE

• “When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks. When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, ‘Why are you back so soon today?’ ‘An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,’ they answered. ‘And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.’ ‘Then where is he?’ their father asked. ‘Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.’ Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom for he explained, ‘I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.’” (Exodus 2:15-22)
• The quality of our lives will be determined in large part by our relationships – especially with family, friendships and Christian partnerships.
• “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray.” (Proverbs 12:26 NKJV)
• “I am a friend to anyone who fears You (O God), to anyone who obeys Your commandments.” (Psalm 119:63)
• “Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation. For it is better to be alone than in bad company.” (George Washington)
  “Bad company corrupts good character.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
• The best places to develop good and godly friendships are in Life Groups or on Ministry Teams at Celebration Church.

Making Better Choices Requires:
CONTINUALLY FOCUSING ON ETERNITY

• “He (Moses) thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great reward.” (Hebrews 11:26)
• The Bible teaches us that one day we will all stand before the Lord to be judged about how we lived here on Planet Earth.
• “For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
• “1 in 200 high school senior boys will get drafted into a professional baseball league. If basketball is your sport, that drops to 1 in 3000. The odds of becoming an astronaut are 1 in 1250. The odds of becoming a U.S. congressperson are roughly 1 in 600,000. However, the odds of standing before the Lord and giving an account of your life are 100%.” (Patrick Eagan)
• When we think through our choices before we make them, realizing they will have eternal and as well as temporal consequences, we will make better choices.
• The Lord to His Faithful Followers when they get to Heaven – “Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!” (Matthew 25:21)
• Every Parent, Spouse, Child and Friend would be blessed if the people in their family and relationship circles would learn how to make godly choices, and commit to making those kinds of choices.
• Some good choices to make today could include committing to: 1) put today’s message into practice in our daily lives; 2) attend Church services or Life Groups regularly, 3) take the step of “baptism by immersion” to show we’re committed to living for Jesus, 4) share this message with others, 5) ask forgiveness from those we’ve unharmed by our unwise, self-centered choices in times past.
• “One’s philosophy in life is not best expressed in words. It is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves by our choices.” (Eleanor Roosevelt)
• Who and what we are is more a result of the Choices we have made than the Circumstances of our lives.
• What is the Lord communicating to me through this message?